3 Reasons People Say Practice For Exams Sucks

I work with students who are preparing for the HSE exams and again and again, I hear them saying the practice for exam sucks. Sure, If they would like to be able to pass any exam without preparation but it’s not realistic. Here’s 3 reasons why students don’t like practice tests or any other form of preparing for their GED or TASC (New York State chose for the TASC to replace the GED) :

“It takes too much time!” Learning takes time. You have to learn every day on a consistent basis to get ready for the GED exam. The beauty of our GED practice website is that it basically spoon-feeds you the tools needed to do this, but all the tools in the world are useless when they’re not used! Learning requires work, but pays great dividends.

For that reason, it’s only going to work for those people dedicated to creating and implementing a rock solid plan for success. The person who approaches this as another “nice thing to do” will probably fold when the going gets tough….and quite possibly say, “I tried to pass the GED….it sucks!”

“It’s Too Expensive” What? Compared to what? Not getting work you deserved is expensive. Sure, you’ll spend some money on GED preparation at other places maybe, but our prep resources are free! Sure, the test is not, but you have to ask yourself the following questions about your business:

Would I like to see an increase in quality job offers?
What is the value of a better job?
What does not having GED currently cost me?

“It Takes Too Long to Work!”

Ok, so you won’t have a flood of great job offers in the second you begin learning. But thank goodness for that. You need to get ready for them too. you have to learn to work for them.

Yes, this takes time. Usually 3-6 months of serious learning before seeing significant results, but it’s like that snowball rolling down the hill. It grows as it picks up speed, and before you know it the momentum is unstoppable.

GAIN ADVANTAGE BY SETTING YOUR OWN EXPECTATIONS

It’s to our benefit to operate under conditions that we set for ourselves. In life we’re frequently held to deadlines often impractical to achieve high-quality output; however, we are merited under the basis of making the best out of whatever situation we have to face. This means that it’s advantageous to have the ability to set your own expectations – providing the best possible working environment – resulting in a meritable outcome.

The “be your own boss” philosophy encompasses taking total ownership of your roles and responsibilities, building relationships to support your life and branding yourself and take charge of your life. if you dropped out of high school, don’t complain and don’t feel bad about.

Setting your own expectations increases your ability to operate as your own boss by loosening the cuffs of poor leadership and/or giving you the ability to work under conditions that you create in order to meet your own goals and objectives. Going back to my example of getting high school diploma/GED, if you will not be prepared for the exam you might fail. The preparation can take time. There is no magic wand.

EXPECTATIONS

Expectation is the state of being expected to do something. It’s what is looked forward to or anticipated.

Many times the word expectation is used instead of direct statements such as: “I direct you to…”, “I demand you to…”, “you must…” and even “I expect you to…”. Tailoring a message like: “my expectation is that you complete the project by next week”, is an indirect and passively aggressive way for one to direct you, or demand you to do something.

Here are a few quick and easy tactics that you can implement today (or next week, if you procrastinate) to begin the process of setting your own expectations:

1. PRODUCE HIGH-QUALITY WORK

Michelangelo couldn’t be held to the same time constraints as the average artist because he wasn’t average. His work spoke for itself.

Be Michelangelo-like when you work and you will notice that the shackles will loosen, your boundaries will fade, expected deadlines will lengthen and most importantly for this article’s sake -your own expectations will develop.

2. OVER SCHEDULE DEADLINES, BUT COMPLETE EARLY

This one is well known in the business world as “over commit – under deliver”. I changed the wording so that the message isn’t mixed for anyone who isn’t familiar. By over committing a deadline, you are creating a buffer for yourself providing two benefits: 1- extra time just in case you need it; 2- create an extended time frame only to complete early, making you look like a hero.

Beware: if you constantly over commit and under deliver then people will eventually catch on. I recommend using this for large, complex situations where the expectation may be more flexible than normal considering the amount of work at hand.

3. TEST THE WATERS; FAIL THE EXPECTATIONS ON PURPOSE

I rarely suggest this type of maneuver although I use it all the time myself. This is because the negative consequences can be substantial.

Keep in mind that I said “fail expectations on purpose“. This means that you purposely make the decision to not meet an expectation that someone else has set for you, as a scheme with a larger goal in mind. For myself, the goal is often to emphasize my work. “Look at the great work I do…so good, in fact, you can’t complain that it was late”. Of course, those are not the words are I use – but it’s the indirect message given!

Failing the expectation on purpose extends the first point above on “Producing high quality work” and backs up the Michelangelo effect.

The positive aspects of using this tactic can be an increase of respect because of your quality work, and of course a notch forward in having the ability to set your own expectations.